Annabelle: Creation Scares Up a $35 Million Opening

The Conjuring cinematic universe enjoyed another successful opening as Annabelle: Creation (Warner Bros. Pictures) scared up an impressive $35 million in first place from 3,502 theaters, an average of $10,006 per location. Receiving a B CinemaScore from audiences, the film opened just slightly below the $37.1 million debut of the first Annabelle in 2014. Overseas, Annabelle: Creation also took in $35 million from 6,935 screens in 39 markets. The international total is now $36.7 million and worldwide total is $71.7 million. Directed by David F. Sandberg, Annabelle: Creation stars Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Lulu Wilson, Philippa Coulthard, Grace Fulton, Lou Lou Safran, Samara Lee, Tayler Buck, with Anthony LaPaglia, and Miranda Otto. The film cost just $15 million to make.

Remaining in second place, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (Warner Bros. Pictures) added $11.4 million its fourth weekend and has earned a total of $153.7 million in North America. Overseas, the film earned $14.5 million from 6,785 screens in 62 markets, and has now reached $210 million. The global total is at $363.6 million for the film, which cost $100 million to make. Dunkirk has yet to open in markets like Italy (Aug. 31), China (Sept. 1), and Japan (Sept. 9). Dunkirk stars Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Tom Hardy.

Despite taking third place, Open Road Films sequel The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature grossed just $8.9 million from 4,003 theaters, an average of $2,232 per theater. That’s the worst opening ever for a film in more than 4,000 theaters. It’s also well behind the first film’s $19.4 million opening ($25.7 million if you count the four-day holiday) in January of 2014. Directed by Cal Brunker, the sequel received a B+ CinemaScore and is voiced by Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph, Jackie Chan, Katherine Heigl, and more.

After topping the box office last weekend, Columbia Pictures and MRC’s The Dark Tower dropped to fourth place with $7.9 million, for a two-week total of $34.3 million. Made for $60 million, the Nikolaj Arcel-directed Stephen King adaptation stars Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, Claudia Kim, Fran Kranz, Abbey Lee, and Jackie Earle Haley.

Rounding out the top five was Sony Pictures Animation’s The Emoji Movie, which earned $6.6 million and has earned $63.6 million after three weeks. Directed by Tony Leondis, The Emoji Movie features the voices of T.J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph, Steven Wright, Jennifer Coolidge, Jake T. Austin, Christina Aguilera, Sofia Vergara and Sir Patrick Stewart. It cost $50 million to make.

Lionsgate also opened The Glass Castle in 1,461 theaters, where the adaptation grossed $4.9 million in ninth place. The film stars Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, and Naomi Watts. And A24’s Good Time, starring Robert Pattinson, brought in $137,625 from four theaters, an average of $34,406.